Sir Bradley Wiggins takes on the Hour Record

Sir Bradley Wiggins will attempt to break the current hour record this Sunday at the Lee Valley VeloPark, London. The current record stands at a distance of 52.937km which was set by Alex Dowsett early last month in Manchester. Barring any mechanical mishap it would seem breaking the record is a certainty, Wiggins himself has stated he wishes to put the record ‘out of reach’ and it would seem Wiggins is aiming for 55.250km which is well over 2km further than the current record.

Wiggins has been focusing on this event since leaving Team Sky after finishing Paris-Roubaix in April this year and has a special Pinarello Bolide modified for a track with single gear with double disc wheels, 3D printed titanium handlebars, Speedplay Zero aero pedals and cleats. Wiggins himself brings impressive credentials to the hour record attempt being a Tour de France winner, World Time Trial champion, Olympic Time Trial champion, double track gold medalist as well as six track world titles and national and junior titles.

Interest in the hour record was revived in June last year when the UCI changed the regulations to allow the use of modern track pursuit racing bicycles, previous record attempts since 1997 were attempted on bikes similar to that used by Eddy Merckx in his 1972 hour record ride. Since June last year seven riders have attempted the record with four riders breaking the hour record. Jens Voigt was the first to attempt the record and he needed to beat the 49.700km set by Ondrej Sosenka in 2005, Voight smashed that setting a new hour record distance of 51.110km. Since then Matthias Brändle, Rohan Dennis and then Alex Dowsett have lifted the hour record distance to 52.937km

The Hour Record attempts since the UCI rule change
Alex Dowsett, May 2, 2015 – Manchester – 52.937km
Gustav Larsson, March 14, 2015 – Manchester – N/A
Thomas Dekker, February 25, 2015 – Aguascalientes – N/A
Rohan Dennis, February 8, 2015 – Grenchen – 52.491km
Jack Bobridge, January 31, 2015 – Melbourne – N/A
Matthias Brändle, October 30,2014 – Aigle – 51.852km
Jens Voigt September 18, 2014 – Grenchen – 51.110km

Previous Hour Record holders
Ondrej Sosenka, 19 July, 2005 – Moscow – 49.700km
Chris Boardman,27 October, 2000 – Manchester – 49.441km
Eddy Merckx, 25 October, 1972 – Mexico City – 49.431

Outright Records outlawed due to the Lugano Charter
Chris Boardman – 6 September, 1996 – Manchester – 56.375km
Tony Rominger – 5 November, 1994 – Bordeaux – 55.291km
Tony Rominger – 22 October, 1994 – Bordeaux – 53.832km
Miguel Indurain – 2 September, 1994 – Bordeaux – 53.040km
Graeme Obree – 27 April, 1994 – Bordeaux – 52.719km
Chris Boardman – 23 July, 1993, – Bordeaux – 52.270km
Francesco Moser – 15 January, 1994 – Mexico City – 51.840km
Graeme Obree – 17 July, 1993 – Hamar – 51.596km

The Hour Record attempt takes place at 3.30am Monday morning AEST time (6.30pm, London), feeds will be posted on The Bike Lane twitter stream @thebikelane_aus

Essential Reading – Graeme Obree on Bradley Wiggins’ hour record attempt: Wiggins’ UCI Hour Record attempt will come down to mental strength